Objective Research objectives and content restored natural ecosystems will be examined by six partners, offering expertise in plants and soil organisms, as well as biogeochemical cycles of nutrients, affecting biodiversity-related interactions and ecosystem processes. The soil biota involved concern bacteria, fungi (incl.endo- and ecyomy- corrhizae), nematodes, insects and earth worms. Six countries participate in CLUE: Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Spain (representing a north-south gradient) and the Czech Republic and England (representing the extremes of the east-west gradient) to obtain results applicable at an European scale. The CLUE project team is organized interdisciplinary and each participant supplies specific expertise. At all six participating countries a similar main field experiment is set up where each participant collects both basic and specialized data. During joint field work shops (twice a year) all six field sites will be examined in order to collect a complete set of data from all sites, as well as to exchange approaches, knowledge and expertise. Results of CLUE will provide basic knowledge on key ecosystem processes determining rate and direction of natural vegetation development to extensively managed grassland and forest at former agricultural land. Two main applications of enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem development will be examined: 1. Enhancement of the initial diversity in vegetation. 2. Introduction of later-successional organisms via 'Stepping stones'. KEYWORDS : climatic gradients, set-aside land, biodiversity, plants, soil organisms, stepping stones, ecosystem processes, biogeochemical cycles Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologymycologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeochemistrybiogeochemistry Programme(s) FP4-TMR - Specific research and technological development programme in the field of the training and mobility of researchers, 1994-1998 Topic(s) 0302 - Post-doctoral research training grants Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON EU contribution No data Address HIGHFIELD SO17 1BJ SOUTHAMPTON United Kingdom See on map Total cost No data